Planning a baby shower – The Ultimate Guide

Planning the Perfect Baby Shower

As long as you're organised, flexible and do a decent job of getting the word out, putting together a baby shower can be an easy, hassle-free business. Here are a few things to consider when planning the party.

Choosing a Baby Shower Location

Consider what the mum-to-be would appreciate most? Is she a home-body? Does she like getting out for lunches with friends?

1. At home

It's private, comfortable, intimate ideal for such a personal event. You have free reign in the kitchen and everyone knows where the toilet is!

2. At a restaurant

All you have to do is call ahead with the number of guests and you're ready. Try to accommodate everyone's taste preferences when choosing a restaurant, but the mum-to-be's favourite cuisine should be priority.

3. At the office

Everyone's busy at work, but carving out an hour to celebrate a colleague's new baby is worth the break.

4. Destination

Outings to spas, gardens and craft markets are popular for destination baby showers.

Baby Shower Theme

Before getting to work creating invites and decorations, it helps if you can organise these around a theme. The theme should reflect the mum-to-be's personality and preferences and can also be centred around the new baby. For example if you don't know the gender you could do a ‘bowtie and butterflies' theme or a safari theme. If you know it s going to be a girl, then a pretty-in-pink fairytale theme with a castle nappy cake could be great!

Inviting and invitations

If you're sending out invitations, consider the chosen theme and what the mum-to-be likes in terms of design and wording. The number of people that you invite depends on the space, the time of day and the relationship the mum-to-be has with the person. If you're not sure, ask some of the other friends in your circle.

Food and drink

Baby shower refreshments need not be elaborate. A simple buffet is easy to pull off, especially if you choose and order the food ahead of time. Ask about food allergies or special dietary needs and also how the mum-to-be feels about alcoholic drinks served during the party.

Baby Shower Games

Kick things off with a few ice-breakers. Have everyone bring baby photos of themselves to display and play a round of who's who. You could include games played around trivia, races with eggs and the shower classic – chocolate bars in nappies – and testing guests' knowledge of the animal baby names.

Baby showers usually wrap up after a few hours, but the memory of this occasion will last a lifetime for the mum-to-be.